Broward Gives Itself A Hand... ...but Human Chain Of 60,000 Fails To Grasp A World Record

The human chain was missing some links but that did not stop many of the estimated 60,000 people who took part Saturday in Hands Across Broward from calling it a success.

``I guess the spirit flowed all the way down the line, even if there wasn`t a body every inch of the way,`` said Barbara Smutniak, 27, of Wilton Manors. ``It was fantastic. It gave me goose bumps.``

At 11 a.m., as helicopters whirred overhead and police sirens sounded, thousands of people held their joined hands in the air, clutching a 23-mile- long red ribbon from one end of Broward County to another.

Children and senior citizens, Boy Scouts in uniform and bank executives in shorts and T-shirts counted down the final seconds and cheered, ``We did it.``

Organizers estimated some 60,000 people flocked to the oceanfront from Hillsboro Beach Boulevard to Hallandale Beach Boulevard in a show of support for the United Way and the 51 agencies it serves. Broward Sheriff Nick Navarro called that ``an educated guesstimate`` made from the air.

Organizers had estimated that it would take 40,000 people to form a continuous 23-mile-long human chain between the Dade and Palm Beach county lines, but that was assuming everyone would spread out.

In the final anaylsis, it seemed, too many people were bunched along the Fort Lauderdale beach, and not enough moved to the northern and southern ends of the line.

The result was a couple of gaps along sections of Hillsboro Beach and Hallandale, according to Navarro and Broward County Commissioner Scott Cowan, who flew overhead as official observers.

But even if they didn`t make it into the Guinness Book of World Records with the longest human chain, organizers said they had done what they set out to do -call attention to the United Way and unite the people of Broward County, if only for a few hours.

``We weren`t here to prove anything to Guinness. We were here to prove something to Broward County, and we did that,`` said Doug Endsley, executive director of the United Way.

``What really matters is that so many people cared. People came up to me today and wanted to donate money. I had to explain this wasn`t a fund- raiser.``

Gary Bitner, a United Way board member, agreed.

``I`m not disappointed with anything,`` he said. ``I think the enthusiasm and awareness of the United Way has improved a phenomenal amount, whether we linked from county line to county line or not.``

Having failed to form the longest human chain, Hands Across Broward organizers think they may still have a shot at two world records - the longest ribbon and the longest underwater link-up.

But first, they will have to convince the Guinness book to create two new categories, since those don`t exist. ``We`re going to give it our best shot,`` Endsley said.

Some 250 scuba divers held on to an underwater line across Port Everglades, the most difficult part of the project logistically. The line was also passed along about a dozen small boats across the Hillsboro Inlet.

Participants began arriving before 9 a.m., staking their places in line and setting up beach chairs and umbrellas. Some built sand castles as they waited for the signal to join hands, some went for a swim and others just wandered up and down the beach talking to friends.

At 10 a.m., helicopters flew overhead and reported back to the central operations center on the Fort Lauderdale beach.

When it became clear that people were poorly distributed, organizers scurried up and down the beach shouting through megaphones, while voices boomed down from helicopters urging people to spread out.

Groups of Boy Scouts were piled into buses and dispatched to sparse sections, while organizers recruited beachgoers who weren`t planning to participate.

Navarro said that from the helicopter he could see the gaps beginning to disappear just minutes before the countdown began.

Around 10:30 a.m., it was sprinkling in a few areas and overcast in others. Organizers wondered if all their hard work would be washed out by a thunderstorm.

But most people remained optimistic.

``It`s gonna work. It`s gotta work. Too much hard work has been put into it for it not to work,`` said Henry Lawson, 80, of Fort Lauderdale.

On the Fort Lauderdale beach, there were a few moments of panic when the ribbon broke and one end fluttered down the beach. ``Grab it,`` people yelled as they chased after the ribbon. A quick tie, and they were back in business.

At 10:50 a.m., helicopters flew overhead, broadcasting the order to pick up the ribbon. For 10 minutes, everyone held the ribbon over their heads, counting down the last 30 seconds.

``There`s an electric current going through this ribbon. This is really a great event,`` former Fort Lauderdale Mayor Virginia Young said while holding up her own section of the ribbon.